The Scent of Lavender
by Petra Nadhi
Summary: Zara Singh Magnus spent much of her time at Hogwarts avoiding Sirius Black, but – at last – the handsome and charismatic young lad has pulled her into his chaos. Between corridor trysts, their blossoming adolescence, and a war on the horizon, what will become of them? Marauders-era.
1. Chapter 1

For as long as he can remember, the very attractive and self-assured Sirius Orion Black has been fascinated by Zara Magnus. The earliest mention of her came when his uncle Alphard shacked up with a Muggle. His mother had sat in the living room and wailed for hours about how it was as bad as when Matthias Magnus, son of Ida Malfoy and Marlon Magnus, had married a muggle waitress.

"A lowly, dirty-blooded muggle serving wench! And they've bred. Now… my insolent brother will do the same. A dirty half-blood born to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black... the traaaa-vesty!"

He couldn't believe it. A muggle girl and a wizard boy made a baby. How could it be? In his tightly controlled environment, he was made to believe the entire thing was physically impossible. He could scarcely imagine a muggle and a wizard interacting, let alone kissing like those icky books with the knights and the sorceresses.

As was the case with all of Alphard's trysts, his stint with the Muggle didn't last. However, his mother's reaction was permanently imprinted in his young mind. His mother, always composed and unwavering, had thrown a tantrum. His mother who often went days without uttering a word to him had spent weeks muttering _"Toujours pur"_. Blood traitors inspired more passion in her than her own son.

And thus, he makes the mistake of questioning her.

Sirius was born mischievous, and he was no stranger to his father's belt, but nothing compared to the beating he received from his mother when he asked what was wrong with marrying a muggle.

"How dare you? I will not have a blood traitor as a son. You will not even think of mixing with dirty blood!"

At the tender age of five, the chaos brought on by the half-blood Magnus child had already shaken the very foundations of his world.

Never subordinate, his mother's overreaction had served to light a fire in his belly. As he grew older, the muggles of Grimmauld Place became his salvation. When he could escape from his nanny, he would sneak off and spend afternoons playing "footie" with the muggle boys. In the mornings, he would watch as the girls put on their scandalous little Muggle cloths and went off to school. Whenever he felt particularly lonely, he would crack open his window and listen to the sounds of their lives; the honking of their mechanic carriages, yelling in foreign languages, giggling children.

He doesn't hear of the Magnus Half-blood again until the summer before his first year. Ida Magnus (née Malfoy) arrives at Grimmauld Place for tea following the announcement of her nephew Lucius Malfoy's betrothal to his cousin, Narcissa.

It is clear upon entry, that even if it was his mother's drawing room, Ida Magnus was in charge. While Walburga was forced to play hostess, Ida Magnus lorded over a cup of tea – her hair a shock of pale blonde, perfectly coiffed atop her head, her eyes – pale green, icily keen.

She brings up her Half-blood granddaughter early, almost as if she were daring his mother to say something about it.

"My Zara will be beginning at Hogwarts this Autumn as well. I would prefer Beauxbatons…the French are far more sophisticated than the Scotch. Alas, it is tradition."

Sirius watches his mother from afar as she brings her cup to her mouth. Her lip quivers in that way it always did when she was holding her tongue. "Your granddaughter, I presume. The one born by that Muggle serving wench?"

Ida does not miss a beat. "Yes, an unfortunate circumstance. She is quite the talented young witch. Zara showed signs of magic seconds after being born. Not like your uncle Marius – you could smell the Squib on him."

His mother – who was still in possession of some level of her sanity in the early 1970s – turns the conversation in the direction of a new boutique opening in Diagon Alley. But later, when the Malfoys and Ida are long gone, she is in hysterics.

"That women had the audacity to wax poetic about her embarrassment of a son's late-night mishap on _my chaise._ The nerve!"

His father sighs, flipping to the next page of his book.

".. And then she dared mock me for Marius! As if the shame of having a Squibb in the family could possibly compare to a blood traitor son! I am of the mind to floo over to my brother's estate right now and call off this wedding!"

His father abruptly closes the novel in his hands with an audible slam and rolls his eyes.

"Stop being dramatic, Walburga." He hisses. "We will not break a _Malfoy betrothal_ because of some distant cousin! Abraxas' son is a pureblood and he's been courting Narcissa for years. What would people say? Besides, Ida's blood traitor son is long dead. Now quit your wailing and pour me some whisky."

His mother's lip quivers, but she falls silent and obeys his command. Only a deviant woman would talk back to her Lord Husband, and Walburga despises deviance.

Sirius watches as she struts out of the room, on a war path to evoke her wrath upon whichever house elf was closest. Despite her hatred of muggles, social propriety held his mother's true devotion. If the consensus among the men of House Black was to turn a blind eye to Lucius Malfoy's half-blood cousin once-removed, then she would not be the one to make a scene.

Nonetheless, Walburga would rather be cursed by Merlin himself than allow for the Black name to be sullied.

The morning he is to leave for his first year at Hogwarts, she finds him. Bending down to his level and magicking away a piece of lint, she whispers, "you stay away from that Half-blood. I will not have you mixing with that mutt, no matter if she wears the Slytherin house colours".

He blinks at her blankly.

 _Oh, if only she knew._

Ever the hyperactive young lad, Sirius gets swept up into the excitement of things quickly. Immediately upon boarding the train, he finds a friend in the Potter boy who shows him how to jinx tails on the bottoms of unsuspecting Prefects. Thus, the mysterious Half-blood is temporarily forgotten.

After being sorted into Gryffindor, his mind is racing. The excitement of being a member of his dream house is overshadowed by the lingering fear in his stomach.

What will mother and father do?

Will they let him play with his little brother Reggie again?

Will they demand he be resorted into Slytherin?

Will they pull him out of Hogwarts and send him to muggle-born-free Durmstrang in the desolate col-

"Zara Magnus!"

He whips his head up and watches as a timid, round girl steps up. She's completely different from what he would've thought. Dark hair, dark eyes, warm brown skin. She's the opposite of what he imagined a granddaughter of Ida Magnus to look like. He can scarcely believe that she shares a drop of blood with Lucius Malfoy, who is perpetually pale as parchment. Maybe she'll be in Gryffindor too. Maybe he can tell her about his mean mom and ask her about what it's like being raised by muggles.

Maybe she'll be his friend.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Well, that's that.

Now – Sirius has never been one to shy away from socializing, yet he cannot get himself to speak to her! He watches her in Charms nearly everyday – diligently taking notes, laughing with her housemates, completely ignorant of him. When him and Potter make Flitwick's toupee levitate she doesn't crack a smile. She simply continues working on her wand movement. When he turns her desk into sponge, she doesn't even rat him out! She sighs and asks Flitwick how to reverse a softening charm.

It isn't until she receives points for her house after being the first student to get a _Reparo_ done correctly that he finally says something to her.

"Hey Magnus, do Ravenclaws ever get tired of brownnosing?"

As is the case with most things done by Sirius Orion Black, he doesn't think when he says it. Likely, it was just a stupid, last-ditch attempt by a pubescent boy to get the attention of a girl he fancies. Unfortunately, it worked.

She whips her head around toward him, "I don't know, _Black,"_ she sneers, her eyes narrowed. "Do you ever get tired of being a rude toad?".

Thus, the tone for their relationship is set. So much for being friends.

In second year, during his first ever Quidditch game, he is distracted by her in the stands. She's hunched over a notebook, scribbling away like a mad woman, paying no attention to him. He has the whole school oohing and aahing at his balletic batting (even the snooty Slytherin girls), but Zara isn't even looking!

He pauses to glare at her for a moment, and just like that – he takes a bludgeon to his stomach and is knocked off his broom. Right before he hits the ground there's two things on his mind – one, that Hufflepuff beater has quite the arm on him! And two, did Zara see him fall? How embarrassing!

In third year, during a Hogsmeade trip, he catches a whiff of her lavender shampoo and finds himself following her into a book store. He'd never admit it, but he purposefully bought the same book as her– _Pride and Prejudice_ , a muggle novel about familial wealth, marriage, and first impressions. He doesn't care for it himself, but the amount of times he sees her with her ratty copy over the years would mean she probably does. He wonders what she likes about it so much.

On a warm day in his fourth year, a few students head over to the Lake for a swim. Zara's there with a few Ravenclaw girls – Regina Shacklebolt and two others he doesn't know by name. He watches as she strips out of her robe into one of those one-piece Muggle bathing suits, and he's taken off guard by her figure. Tits! She has tits! The dark stretchy fabric does little to hold in her breasts which seem to have filled out since he last got a good look at them. In their school robes, he was lucky if he got a flash of leg.

That night she comes to him in his dreams and he awakes to sticky knickers.

Later, in History of Magic, she enthusiastically answers a question about the Goblin rebellion, and he's sure to ask her whether it's harder to lick Professor Binns' arse since he's a ghost. She throws an inky quill at him and him and they both wind up in detention. While they both do their time scrubbing floors after hours, he comes to learn that she's changed her shampoo from the lavender one to another which smells like green apple. He prefers the lavender. She doesn't say a word to him.

During fifth year, Remus starts spending time with her. With the OWLs around the corner, his dear friend decides that the Marauders do not make for the most effective study buddies. Thus, the Ravenclaws it is. Every other day, his lycanthropic pal lugs his big bookbag to the library and diligently reviews for hours with Zara Magnus. One day, he asks him about her.

"Now, Moony…I know you like your dusty old books, but how can you possibly stay awake in the company of boring Ravenclaws like Magnus?"

Remus looks up from his novel and grins teasingly, "Wouldn't you like to know."

James lets out a thunderous laugh, "I bet you'd do all sorts of things in Magnus' company, Padfoot. Don't you think we saw you rush off with a stiffy after that day at the lake last year?"

"Yeah, you were real excited to be in her company then!" chortles Peter.

Sirius is flustered. _How do they know?_ James is his best friend, but he hadn't told even him! He couldn't bear to be the one being teased, especially not about Zara Magnus. James thought the whole thing about fancying a girl was a big joke, that was clear from the way he treated Evans. Sirius was serious about his crush – no one was supposed to know!

"Magnus and me? I haven't a clue what you're on about!"

" _I haven't a clue what you're on about,"_ James mocks, his hands placed on his hips, "I sit beside you in all of our classes, I've seen you smell her hair!"

"I'm Sirius Black! I can have any girl that I want. I'm not like you, following around Evans since first year!" he retorts, "besides…my canine condition makes my nose very sensitive, and her shampoo is very strongly scented!"

James chuckles, "Say what you want, mate. I know what a lad in love looks like...and I know you."

It isn't until sixth year that he starts seeing Zara regularly outside of class. Marlene McKinnon, his fellow Gryffindor beater, starts going out with Regina Shacklebolt, the captain of Ravenclaw's Quidditch team and Zara's best friend. Suddenly, any party, anywhere and she is there.

At first, he's caught off guard. In a lot of ways, he had reduced her to a fantasy – a rebellion against his mother, personified. Her wide brown eyes, and her shapely thighs and her rounded hips were merely bonuses. The fact that she didn't seem to care for him just made her a fun challenge; something to occupy his mind while he engaged in otherwise meaningless relationships. Would he have to look at Zara Magnus as a whole, complete person? What if he hated the real version of her?

He's surprised to see her enjoying herself. Sirius partly expected her to be wallflower, nursing a drink in the corner of the room. But she's socializing, and dancing, and cracking jokes! Sirius settles into a couch with a strong butterbeer and is quickly joined by Janet Vance – his latest flame - who settles herself into his lap. While Janet noisily chatters away with a group of her friends, he turns his attention to Zara. Her hips sway sensually to a song playing at full blast, and she loudly sings at the top of her lungs with a group of girls.

Her friend, the short blonde girl, has a pleasant voice.

Zara, to put it lightly, does not.

If a screeching merman had a child with a banshee, it would sound like her. He supposes he should be turned off by it, but it just makes him want her more. Despite the gorgeous woman literally sat on top of him, he's enraptured by the bronze beauty dancing mere meters away. She is the thing of dreams – barefoot, flushed cheeks, hair down, bra-less. Maybe he's inebriated, but he wants her so bad.

He chugs down the rest of his drink, and makes his way toward her.

He leans against the wall opposite her, and stares at her intently. Immediately – he catches her gaze. She looks up at him for a moment, before turning away, her golden cheeks reddening. Not one to be embarrassed easily, she walks up to him.

"Sirius Black." She says simply in greeting.

"Zara Magnus," he smirks, "you're quite the singer."

She laughs, "You're one to talk! I heard you scream along to that Sex Pistols song just a few minutes ago!" she retorts, "how do you even know them? they're muggles!"

He smiles gently, lightly grazing his hand along the length of her upper-arm. "I know a lot of things that might surprise you."

She tilts her head and looks up at him through her long, dark lashes, ever-so-slightly leaning into his touch. "Oh, like what?"

He takes the opportunity, to put his hands on her waist and pull her closer, "maybe I can show you some time."

Her breath hitches and he leans in, taking a whiff of her tresses, "Your hair smells good…I always liked the lavender better than the green apples…"

 _Oh Merlin! What did he just say?_ _So much for being suave._

Zara pulls back, widening her eyes, "What? my ha-"

"Black, step away from the girl!" hisses Lily Evans, appearing like a flash of angry, ginger lightning, and pulling Zara further away from him. "Don't you have other girls to go bother? Leave my new friends alone…come on Zara, Fawn is looking for you."

And just like that, Magnus slips through his fingers once again.


	2. Chapter 2

For as long as she could remember, the relatively inexperienced and usually studious Zara Singh Magnus had been fixated on sex. Whether it be articles on _Satisfying Your Wizard_ in her least favourite grandmother's subscription of _Witch Weekly_ , or dirty stories of bold knights and young sorceresses engaged in the throes of passion. She was completely and utterly fascinated.

Oftentimes, when she lay in her bed, after having engaged in a session of physical "self-exploration", she wondered why this was. Perhaps it was an intellectual curiosity - _The Orgasm:_ an investigation of the most primitive, and pleasurable experience. After all, she was a Ravenclaw. Other times, she couldn't help but feel like she was just a pervert hiding behind high brow jargon; a girl born with her head in the gutter. Maybe she was an idealist – fantasizing about boys because she needed to prepare herself for the right one, her _Warlock_ Charming. Maybe it was the novelty of the act, seeing as she was a bona fide virgin.

Mostly though, she was probably just being a randy teen.

She's listening to (or rather, eavesdropping on) a conversation on the Quidditch stands during an intense Ravenclaw v. Gryffindor game that she had reluctantly attended.

"I swear on Merlin, he is huge!" said Wendolyn Candlestick, a very tall and very thin Gryffindor in her year. She was standing in front of Zara, deep in conversation with a friend, who listened closely with a slight flush to her cheeks. She dropped her voice an octave, trying her best attempt at a whisper "…hung like a horse."

Wendolyn's companion, a round girl with a blonde fringe, widened her eyes. "Wow…Janet was telling the truth", she said, enthralled.

The taller girl rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Alice. Sirius won't even look in that slag's direction now that he's been with me" she bit back, flipping her long, shiny hair.

Zara sighed. Gryffindor gossip was always so much more interesting than what went on in Ravenclaw. What could she say? It was terribly difficult to get through life at Hogwarts without finding solace in someone else's drama. Her novels could only entertain her for so long, and she was envious of the fun other people had.

The Germans call that _schadenfreude._

The last interesting thing to happen at Ravenclaw is when Peeves had charmed the eagle knocker at the tower's entrance to only let students in if they called Dumbledore a dirty name. Honestly, that incident had made her more anxious than anything else. Merlin knows it wouldn't do anybody any good to get on the bad side of that strange old wizard!

No – things around her common room were painfully dull; always the same routine. She got up in the morning, listened to her friends' chatter, ate her breakfast, went to class, finished her homework, and called it a night. Zara missed the chaos of her grandparents' Muggle restaurant in the heart of London. In _Raja's Palace_ , there was always a curry bubbling, always a boisterous regular laughing heartily, always a Bollywood song on full blast.

Like many boarding school students, she had cabin fever. Summers in bustling London felt short after spending most of her year in a castle with nowhere to go but scheduled visits to a small village. It's only a little while now until she's seventeen and can floo and apparate wherever she desires. Hogwarts was suffocating her. How did those Gryffindors manage to have so much fun? They were always up to something; _daring to live boldly._

Early that morning, after their more studious housemates had left, Regina and Fawn had jumped on her bed and talked her head off with all the new comings-and-goings of Hogwarts' most eligible.

Regina Shacklebolt might have been her best friend, but she was also quite popular. People loved her; she was as sweet as treacle tart and beautiful, with a head of coiled curls and a lithe-figure born of hours spent on the quidditch-pitch. Her newly-acquired girlfriend, Marlene McKinnon, also had an in with the rowdy Gryffindors, being one herself.

Fawn MacMillan was the opposite, quiet and bookish, she had a penchant for disappearing into backgrounds, especially during important discussions. The fact that she was barely five feet probably helped too.

Thus, here was Zara – a television-less teenage girl in a magic castle whispering with her nosy pals. Some people start off their mornings with a newspaper, she gets her own morning radio-show.

Word on the street is:

"James Potter jinxed the literal pants off the mean greasy-haired Slytherin boy, again… I saw it with my own two eyes in Herbology!"

"Wendolyn Candlestick says she spent the weekend posing for _Enchantress Magazine_ in Corsica, but Marlene told me Alice says it was only a couple of headshots because her father knows the editor."

"Talisa Nott and Hong Carrow turned Lily Evans' hair Slytherin green in Potions because Slughorn kept giving her points for Gryffindor."

"Apparently the reason Mary MacDonald started crying in Defense is because Desmond Avery called her the bad word for being a muggleborn."

"Sirius Black shagged Wendolyn…and then when Wendolyn was in Corsica, Janet Vance…but Wendolyn doesn't know and she says they're exclusive."

At the mention of Sirius, Zara groans and buries her face in her pillow. She just doesn't understand the appeal! Sure, she wasn't blind. The boy was very handsome. Maybe the most handsome boy in all of Hogwarts. If rumours were to be believed he was also very skilled, and if Wendolyn were to be believed, very well-endowed. But he was also very crass and disrespectful and arrogant. Every time she saw him, he was doing something showy- whether it be tricks on his broomstick, or loudly boasting about whatever ridiculous thing he did that weekend, it was clear he thrived on attention. She couldn't stand so much as sitting near him, the thought of having to make conversation just about made her want to throw herself into the lake. The Giant Squid would make for better company than Sirius Black.

Then again, it was very unlikely that whatever Vance or Wendolyn were doing with him involved any sort of conversation. In fact, the only time he seemed to interact with any girl other than his admirers and bedfellows was with Marlene, who is very much a lesbian. Most days, he seemed more in love with himself than anything else. How did these women do it?

 _They must've gagged him._

Now that was a thought. Sirius Black tied up and quiet and hard. Muscles taut, straining against rope, like that picture of Javier Gomes she'd seen in _Magixxx._

 _Bleeding fuck._

What's wrong with her? She needs to remember who she's dealing with. Sirius Black wasn't a Spanish model from her naughty magazines for her to project her fantasies on. He was a real boy bred by the same sort of Pureblood gentry that turned their noses up at her for being born to a Muggle mother. The same sort of people who shunned her father for daring to love someone who wasn't magical. He is a mischievous boy who provoked her into getting her very first detention. He is a mean bully who spent years jeering at her any chance he got.

He's the same, awful boy who had recently developed an affinity to end up in the seat closest to her every time she was forced in his company. The same boy who she caught staring at her one too many times. The same boy who noticed when she switched her shampoo from lavender to green apples to lavender again.

The same boy who tried to get her into bed with him last month in the Hufflepuff Common Room when firewhisky ran abundant after a Slytherin loss. The same Sirius Black who she might not have turned down if he were sober. Whom she didn't _technically_ turn down at all but was simply pulled away from by a Lily Evans, who was perpetually-sober and unwilling to let any poor drunk girl do something she may regret.

No – Zara Magnus is certain she does not want to have sex with Sirius Black. In fact, she's spent weeks going out of her way to avoid him despite him being in most of her NEWT level classes. She was embarrassed that she let him think she was that easy at the party. Sure, it's 1977 – women own their sexuality now, but guys like Sirius should have to work harder. He glanced at her once and she was creaming her knickers. She must do better.

"So what do you say, want to come?" asks Regina from the foot of her bed.

Zara lifts her head from her pillow and rubs her face before throwing a look of confusion in her tall friend's direction. "Where?"

Regina rolls her eyes, before grabbing a decorative pillow and throwing it at Zara. "You never listen! I'm going out with Marlene and her friends tonight."

Fawn frowns, "Don't do it, you could get caught. They're going to sneak off to Hogsmeade way past curfew."

Regina sighs, "It could be fun…you always complain about how nothing happens, this is your chance! Who knows…you might meet a special bloke."

"I promise you, Zara. No _witch_ in the history of the world has ever met any wizard worth her time at the Three Broomsticks," asserts Fawn in response "besides, you might run into staff. Slughorn is probably going to be drunk at the bar trying it on with Rosmerta."

Zara giggles, "With Rosmerta? I'd like the chance to see him try."

Regina squeals, throwing her arms around her friend. "Does that mean you coming?"

Zara rubs her eyes before letting out a yawn, "No promises."

 _Yes promises._ She needed an excuse to dress up and go out. She was far too young to be this bored.

Hours later, her and Regina are stood in front of their dormitory mirror, slapping powder on their noses and slathering lipstick over their mouths before sneaking off to meet Marlene.

Regina leads her down a corridor on the third floor where Marlene is stood excitedly whispering with James Potter, dusky-skinned and spectacled.

"Reggie, you look beautiful," says Marlene, her narrow eyes sparkling as she embraces her girlfriend.

"Thanks, love," replies the curly-haired girl, leaning in for a kiss.

James rolls his eyes, "Get a room, you two! Some of us here are recovering from rejection."

Marlene breaks the kiss, tossing her arm around Regina before throwing a glare towards James, "You're a prat and you deserved it".

Zara attempts to stifle a giggle and fails, garnering attention from the frowning boy.

"Got something to say, Magnus?" he asks, raising an eyebrow and folding his arms.

Zara turns to look at him, a teasing look in her eye, "Lily hexing you in response to your endless harassment feels more like justice than heartbreak."

Marlene laughs in response, before being hushed by Regina. "Guys quit it! We don't want to get caught. How the hell are we meant to get to Hogsmeade from the third floor of Hogwarts? And where is everyone else?"

James' lip quirks into a half-grin, as he pulls his wand from his pocket. "Watch and learn" he says, tapping the back of the one-eyed witch statue and whispering _"Dissendium"_.

The back of the witch opens wide, revealing a short slide. The two Ravenclaws look upon, astonished.

James smirks at their reactions, tucking his wand back into the back of his trousers. "Ladies first."

After recovering from their surprise and hesitating for a moment, they follow him down the tunnel. Eventually they find themselves walking through Honeydukes and into the Three Broomsticks, where the other Gryffindors await them.

Remus is the first to spot the group, waving them over to a table in the back of the pub. He gets up, and immediately throws his arms around James.

"Prongs! You're heeere." He says, grabbing Potter's face and planting a big, wet kiss right on his mouth, much to the amusement of the others.

"I see you started without us, Moony," Remarks his friend, aggressively wiping at his mouth.

Remus ignores him, tossing his arms around Zara, enveloping her in a big bear hug. "Zara, how nice of you to join us," he says, burrowing his chin into her neck before lifting her off the ground and twirling her around in a surprising display of strength. He pauses and pulls back a little, seemingly lost in thought.

"Wow…Sirius is right, your hair does smell nice."

She looks at him wide-eyed. _Sirius Black talks about my shampoo?_

James let's out a hearty laugh, but Remus simply pats her on the head, clueless and intoxicated.

"Lavender, innit?"

Zara is a bit taken aback by this Remus. Despite having regularly spent time with him since her fifth year, she's never known him to be anything other than studious. She supposes it makes sense for him to be in this sort of state. Remus drunkenly trying to snog his mate seems to be the perfect reconciliation between her knowledge of him as her bookish study partner and Sirius and James' fellow miscreant.

She looks around.

Regina and Marlene have disappeared, abandoning her in the company of Gryffindors she does not know all that well. There's three other people at the table. The one sat in the corner is Peter Pettigrew, a stout pointy-nosed boy who was rumoured to have stolen knickers on more than one occasion. He never spoke much, and when he did it was often just to reaffirm whatever his masters Sirius and James had said. Zara tries not to dwell on gossip, but it was safe to say all potential panty-sniffers gave her the creeps.

Across from Peter were Mary MacDonald and Alice Fortescue. Mary was facedown on the table, her chestnut hair splayed around her. Alice – Wendolyn's friend from earlier – was rubbing Mary's back.

Mary lifts her head for a moment and wails, sobs wracking through her body. Alice pulls her into a side hug, smoothing over her hair. Peter doesn't seem to notice.

Needless to say, Zara is grateful when James pulls her away from the group toward the bar, Remus trailing behind them.

"What on earth is going on there?" asks Zara after James orders a round of drinks.

"Who knows? Probably had something to do with Mary's secret boyfriend. She's always a bit weepy about him."

"Secret boyfriend? How scandalous," comments Zara absent mindedly "Who do you think it is?"

James shrugs, "No one's even met him. Probably some Muggle bloke from home."

Remus burps loudly and the smell of alcohol wafts through the air. "She can do better than him…whoever he is."

The barmaid places their order in front of James, and Remus reaches for a pint. James whips out his wand and mutters a spell, turning the fizzy amber liquid into an opaque orange one.

"I'm cutting you off, mate," says the dark-haired boy "you ought to watch yourself 'round your time o'the month."

Remus frowns, but doesn't protest. Zara is confused by the menstruation joke, but she chalks it up to stupid lad humour and doesn't say anything.

"Where the bloody hell is everyone else?" asks James, noticing Sirius' absence.

The other boy chugs down his Pumpkin juice before responding.

"Well…Lily didn't come, if that's what you're wondering." He burps again and Zara is sure to hold her nose this time. "Dear Padfoot is off with her highness, Princess Wendolyn."

Zara inwardly scolds herself. She was silly to think he could even possibly be interested in her. Why would he take a second look at her flabby body when he had a beautiful model on his arm? He doesn't care about Zara. In truth, it's probably her fault for having such strong-scented shampoo. Even Remus could smell it.

 _Stupid witch!_

"Prongs! Moony!"

 _Speak of the devil._

Zara tries very hard not to stare at Sirius, but it's a task that turns out to be much easier said than done. She hates to admit it, but the man is utterly breathtaking. He's cut his hair since she last saw him, and his cheekbones are now fully on display along with the elegant expanse of his neck. She hates herself for it, but she wants him.

"Magnus!" he says, a mild look of surprise briefly flittering across his features before being replaced by a grin. "Didn't expect to find you here…you following me?"

"Absolutely, you've caught me", she says, mockingly throwing her hands up in surrender.

"I knew you couldn't live without me."

"Maybe in your dreams, Black."

"Absolutely, you've caught me."

Zara blushes wildly. _Why am I so bloody affected by him?_

She knows he gets around. This is probably how he picks up all those other people, entrapping them in the heat of his molten gaze, enchanting them with his silver tongue. She knows better than this. He's probably just bored and horny and she's just convenient. What else could explain his complete flip in behaviour to her over the course of the last year? He went from mocking her at any given moment to ceaselessly flirting.

James and Remus leave to play a game of flaming darts, and she's left alone in his company.

"Where's your bird?" she asks, unwilling to give in to him.

"What bird?"

"Wendolyn."

He runs a hand through his hair, a teasing look in his eyes.

"It's nothing like that…why, are you jealous?"

She swallows thickly, trying to compose herself. Her heart is beating so quickly, an irrational part of her begins to fear he can hear it.

"No!" she replies, a touch too defensively, much to his amusement. "I'm just genuinely wondering."

"Why? Didn't think you two were friends."

"I just think it's important for women to look out for other women in environments like this."

"Well, aren't you kind…" he replies, "Mary MacDonald was pissed out of her mind so she took her back to Hogwarts…the lass can't hold her drink."

"That much was obvious, never seen someone be so affected by butterbeer," she says.

"Think you can do better, Magnus?"

"Without a doubt."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Only if you think you can handle it," she retorts, pushing a pint in his direction.

Several drinks later, Zara's changed her mind about Sirius. She's surprised by the curiosity he shows in her, asking her questions about her family and her favourite book. He is decidedly much better company than the Giant Squid. Amid a busy crowd, the two learn about one another.

Sirius once cut off Professor Kettleburns' ponytail in the middle of a Care of Magical Creatures lesson without the man noticing. Zara once got caught trimming her grandfather's beard in his sleep, curtesy of a dare given to her by a cousin.

Sirius had his first kiss with a distant cousin under a table at one of his mother's dinner parties when he was nine years of age. Zara had hers with Jerome Davies in fourth year during her first proper party in the Ravenclaw common room.

"I don't know if it could accurately be described as a kiss, it was mostly his tongue darting in and out of my mouth for an extended period of time."

Sirius howls with laughter, a stupid drunken grin plastered over his face. She tries her best to focus on what he's saying, but she can't help but be entranced by his soft pink lips as he speaks. She's utterly taken with him; the crinkling of his eyes when he laughs, the stubble forming over his upper lip, the curl that hangs over his forehead.

She's staring now, and she's too pissed to care.

He notices.

They fall silent, their eyes meeting. His pale, silvery gaze pouring into her dark eyes. She reaches up, pushing a strand of hair out of his face, and his stare intensifies. He grabs her face and pulls her closer, closing the gap between them. Their lips meet, fiery and passionate; open-mouthed and demanding. The world seems to disappear around them; the whistling of their amused friends, their rocky past, the stares of other patrons. They are completely and utterly lost to the heat of the moment.

She's certain she could stay like this forever; her lips dancing with his for all of eternity, locked in a sloppy, drunken kiss. He's pulled her off her stool now, and she's stood between in legs. Her mind begins to race with the possibilities of what may happen.

Suddenly, there's an ear-splitting boom, and chaos erupts around them.

 **A/N: Whew! This one is a whopping 3400+ words.**

 **Thank you so much for reading, and a million hugs and kisses to everyone who left a review. Your comments/criticisms are much appreciated.**

 **This story is currently looking to be around 19 chapters +epilogue, with a possibility for a sequel. Naturally, as I haven't written much of it, this is subject to change.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Petra Nadhi**


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